Sandy no match for Santa, elves

Group hands out gifts to kids impacted by storm

Dec. 17, 2012

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@NTerryAPP

Santa greets families in the Shore Acres section of Brick that was devastated by superstorm Sandy. Santa was there with Santa's Sandy Hand, a group that delivered Chistmas presents to families in the area. / Robert Ward/Staff Photographer

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Superstorm Sandy battered the Shores Acres neighborhood in Brick, drowning homes, valuables and spirits just one month before the holiday season. The damage was taxing enough to put Christmas on the back burner for many residents focused on gutting and rebuilding.

But on Sunday, spirits were revived when Santa’s Sandy Hands delivered gifts to more than 30 children gathered at Amanda Laughlin’s house on Hasley Drive.

It was one of many stops for the organization, which collected hundreds of toys, new clothing and gifts cards for families displaced by the storm.

“Parents are more concerned about keeping a roof and a floor and replacing furniture and appliances,” said Laughlin, who informed Santa’s Sandy Hands of the need in her community. Kids “don’t see anything past Christmas. They know that the day is coming and they have their expectations.”

Volunteers spent Saturday and Sunday distributing gifts to neighborhoods and hotels across the state.

“Some people haven’t put up a Christmas tree because they don’t even know where to put it,” said Michelle Leonard, founder of the organization. “But if the community can come together and lessen that burden, then we should be there.”

Leonard said she launched the organization on Nov. 10 after spending several days volunteering at shelters. The Beachwood resident said it was clear that many homeless families would not have a Christmas this year.

So, she put a call out for help and within one month, she had filled up three lockers at the U-Haul storage center in Toms River with gifts and donations from 30 drop-off locations at Shore area businesses.

Donations poured in from in and out of state, she said. In fact, an airplane flew from Boston on Friday to drop off a load of donated gifts.

“We touched a lot of people,” Leonard said. “The entire experience was breathtaking and very emotional.”

In Ocean Township, Ace Gymnastics collected more than 150 gifts, mostly toys, for Santa’s Sandy Hands, said general manager George Roscko and his wife Farra. The couple said a gym from Maryland dropped off a truckload of gifts at their facility on Thursday,

“When you lose your home, you’re not thinking about Christmas,” Farra Rosko said. “It broke my heart that these kids wouldn’t have that. I did not want them to miss out because of a natural disaster.”

Laughlin agreed. Many of the children on her street lost all of their toys when Sandy flooded Shore Acres. Laughlin said her family has been living on the second floor of their house, but residents with one-story homes lost everything.

“Everything that has happened with the storm has brought everybody even closer together,” Laughlin said of her neighborhood. “Everyone has been helping each other out.”